wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “log report”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “log report”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Debug Log Viewer shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #2 3 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #3 4 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 
Ninjalytics: Sales Reports & Order Export for WooCommerce and EDD 6K+ · 4.4★ (57)
wp.org #12 13 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 
Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #19 20 
SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Error Log Viewer by BestWebSoft 5K+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 
Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Debug Log Viewer 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.